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Preparing to Discuss Race and Police Violence in the Classroom

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Preparing to Discuss Race and Police Violence in the Classroom

Recent events involving the killing of black men by police have sparked expressions of outrage and injustice across the country. While the world watches these cases play out in the media and criminal justice system, these tragic events are teachable moments in classrooms across the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 2014, when the killing of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO ignited both riots and peaceful protests, we compiled resources and protocols in an effort to help teachers prepare for and navigate difficult discussions with their students on race, racism and police violence. Since Ferguson, numerous other events including the deaths of Freddie Gray and Alton Sterling – and most recently Keith Scott in Charlotte, NC and Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, OK have prompted us to revisit and update these resources.